St. Barnabas Church is rooted in Greenwich's backcountry at 954 Lake Avenue. The Episcopal congregation began with families meeting in a tack barn in the 1950s and grew into a parish known for two Sunday Holy Eucharist services, relevant preaching, a professional choir, and formation that places children and youth within worship rather than apart from it. Its midcentury modern sanctuary, the first Richards, Fowkes Opus One organ, and a tradition of natural, spiritual, and liturgical beauty shape an experience that is contemplative at 8:00 a.m. and music-rich at 10:00 a.m.
Two Sundays at 8:00 and 10:00
The Sunday rhythm consists of two celebrations of Holy Eucharist at the church's Greenwich address:
- 8:00 a.m. The earlier service is quiet and contemplative.
- 10:00 a.m. This Holy Eucharist includes the choir and music, with Children's Church for younger children and Youth Church for students in grades 4 through 8.
Both services take place at St. Barnabas Church, 954 Lake Avenue. The 10:00 a.m. service can also be watched through the church's YouTube livestream.
Children are always welcome in worship. Their voices and occasional cries are treated as part of parish life, and families may keep a child with them throughout the service. At 10:00, children in Pre-K through grade 3 may participate in Children's Church, while older youth gather nearby for prayer, fellowship, faith formation, and fun. Youth return to their families at the Peace to share in Holy Communion.
The rhythm of worship is supported by a wider group of Sunday volunteers, including readers, ushers, Eucharistic ministers, and members of the Altar Guild. No previous experience is required to take part in these roles. The church itself is also open for prayer every day.
A Tack Barn Became a Midcentury Sanctuary
St. Barnabas began in the 1950s when a small group of founders wanted to establish an Episcopal church in the Greenwich backcountry. They first gathered in a tack barn. Their missionary spirit gradually produced a community of families drawn from throughout Greenwich, along with a building and worship tradition with an unusually strong sense of purpose.
The midcentury modern church was designed by parishioner Philip Ives, who also selected the stones used in its construction. The result is a resonant sanctuary designed to make worship feel beautiful, substantial, and communal. At St. Barnabas, beauty is not treated as decoration. It is understood as one of the most direct ways to experience God in a secular age, expressed through architecture, music, liturgy, and the changing light and sound within the room.
That philosophy extends beyond the altar. The congregation describes four commitments in simple terms: love for children, love for beauty, love for one another, and love for the Lord. The church's refrain, Be real. Meet God. Follow Jesus., gathers those commitments into one life rather than separating them into isolated programs.
Beauty You Can Hear
Music is at the center of worship at St. Barnabas. The music ministry's aim, beauty you can hear, is expressed through a choir of eight professional singers, two organs, congregational singing, and a continuing tradition of concerts and recordings. Director of Music and organist Marnus Greyling leads the choir, plays for services, and collaborates in planning worship.
Greyling came to St. Barnabas from South Africa after studies at the University of Pretoria and the University of Cambridge. His background includes organ scholarship at Downing College and St Albans Cathedral, along with leadership in university and cathedral music. At St. Barnabas, that experience supports a professional ensemble made up of:
- Sopranos: Christi Bye and Barbara Zay
- Mezzo-sopranos: Sarah Bleasdale and Megan Friar
- Tenors: Kevin Ray and Matt Zay
- Basses: Alan Rasmussen and John Rose
Parishioners join the professional singers as a Family Choir for special services. The result is music in which professional artistry, congregational participation, organ, and the resonant room reinforce one another.
The principal instrument is the Richards, Fowkes Opus One, the first organ built by Richards, Fowkes and Company. Commissioned in 1988 and installed in 1991, it has 35 stops across two manuals and pedal. Its tonal qualities and versatility have made it important to worship and concert life. A smaller Henk Klop continuo organ, built in the Netherlands in 2008, has five stops and provides a more intimate voice for concerts, gatherings, and subdued services such as those during Lent and Easter.
The musical foundation was built over decades by J. Michael Roush, who became Director of Music in 1979 and served for 44 years. He developed concerts, recordings, and the St. Barnabas choral tradition, including the Bach@415 series. After his transition to Director of Music Emeritus, his legacy remains part of the parish's continuing musical life. Recorded choir and organ performances are also available through the church's YouTube channel.
Children Belong in the Room, Including the Noise
Children are an important part of St. Barnabas's congregation, not an interruption to it. The church seeks to support parents in raising children with enduring values centered on the unconditional love of God in Christ. Sunday formation combines Bible stories, crafts, music, discovery, and time together.
During the 10:00 a.m. service, Children's Church welcomes children from Pre-K through grade 3. They learn biblical stories and explore faith through music, arts and crafts, and other activities. On arrival, families follow signs for Children and Youth to the Parish House entrance, then follow the signs for Children's Church. Children who prefer to remain with their parents are equally welcome in the sanctuary.
Awe and Wonder extends that formation through an occasional gathering for children and youth ages 4 to 14. Each event explores God through imagination, nature, and the arts, with a different theme and an invited expert. Children have opportunities to create, play, and encounter the natural world. Dinner, dessert, and conversation are part of the gathering, which lasts two to three hours. Parents may drop off their children and pick them up afterward, and no connection with St. Barnabas is required. In Children's Church, Megan Friar leads music for children age 8 and under, and children periodically share songs in worship with Marnus Greyling.
Youth Serve as Readers, Acolytes, and Companions
Youth Church, or YC, gathers students in grades 4 through 8 during the 10:00 service. It combines religious formation with fellowship and fun through prayer, discussion, and shared activity. The group meets in the youth room just down the hall from Children's Church, then returns to the congregation at the Peace.
Students in grade 9 and up can volunteer to help lead Children's Church and participate in Teen Bible Study. Beginning in grade 4, youth may also volunteer as readers, acolytes, or cross-bearers during the 10:00 service. Seventh graders and older are especially encouraged to serve as cross-bearers, and they may still attend Youth Church while volunteering.
For students in grades 7 through 10, confirmation preparation continues from September through May. The class meets monthly and includes lunch. Teen Bible Study is open to students in grade 8 and up, especially those who have already been confirmed. It meets monthly from 11:15 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. after the 10:00 service, with lunch provided, and brings real questions to Scripture, prayer, and the experience of Christian community together.
There are also occasional Youth Sundays in which the congregation follows the full Rite II service together. YC gathers in a roped-off area of the sanctuary, and Rev. Phoebe Oler preaches a message for the young people of the parish.
Bring Your Questions: Small Groups in Three Ways
St. Barnabas organizes nine small groups under three headings: be real, meet God, and follow Jesus. Some groups dig deeply into Scripture, while others are built primarily for honest conversation, shared questions, or long-term formation.
Be Real: Conversation and Curiosity
Contemporary Seekers meets monthly on Wednesdays at 5:00 p.m. for one hour at the lower level of Greenwich Library Café. It is a casual discussion of Scripture, books, articles, faith in contemporary life, and the large questions people carry with them. No prior knowledge is needed, no affiliation with St. Barnabas is required, and people of any denomination or religious belief may attend. Doubt and curiosity are encouraged.
At 6:00 p.m., Queer Bible Study meets in the same location for another monthly hour. The group reads Hearts Ablaze: Parables for the Queer Soul by Rolf Nolasco, moving through roughly one chapter each session and considering a parable of Jesus through a queer lens. It is open to queer people and those who love them, as well as participants of any denomination or religious belief.
Sunday Seekers gathers monthly after the 10:00 service for 30 to 45 minutes. A passage, article, or chapter becomes the beginning of an unhurried conversation over Sunday coffee. The circle places longtime parishioners and first-time visitors on the same level, and each meeting can be attended without a prior commitment.
Meet God Through Scripture and Shared Life
Alpha consists of eight dinner conversations centered on developing a personal relationship with the God of Jesus Christ. Its schedule includes a Saturday morning retreat on the Holy Spirit between the sessions. While Alpha is often associated with people outside the church, St. Barnabas also makes it available to members who want space to ask what knowing God personally means within an established parish life.
For students in grade 8 and up, Teen Bible Study offers monthly Scripture, prayer, conversation, and lunch. A corresponding Parent-Teen Bible Study gives parents an hour each month to explore the same passages through the experience of raising teenagers. The parents' group can meet on Zoom or in person.
Follow Jesus Through Study, History, and Confirmation
Thursday Bible Study meets every other Thursday at 8:00 a.m. at Coffee For Good in Greenwich. It follows the For Better, For Verse podcast recorded by Father Justin and Dr. Jewelle Bickel; participants can listen beforehand or arrive ready to catch up. The gathering is designed for Scripture and conversation over coffee.
The Sunday Seminar meets weekly at 9:00 a.m. between the two Sunday Eucharists. It traces how the Gospel came to England and explores the Anglican history and theology inherited by St. Barnabas. Father Justin and Susan Jackson lead the group, whose members take turns choosing, preparing, and teaching topics. Attendance is open, including opportunities for members to lead a session.
Confirmation Class prepares students in grades 7 through 10 for the sacramental rite of Confirmation. Meeting monthly from September through May, the class builds on what students have already learned in Youth Church, studies the church's sacramental life, and shares lunch along the way.
Monthly Dinner at Pacific House
For St. Barnabas, following Jesus means loving and serving neighbors. Outreach is therefore part of the church's life together rather than a separate activity performed only at special times. The congregation serves through hands-on work, collections, financial support, and sustained relationships with organizations caring for people in the community and beyond.
Its most regular outreach rhythm is a monthly dinner at Pacific House, a men's shelter in Stamford. On the fourth Tuesday of each month, parish members prepare food and gather at the shelter to serve dinner to approximately 60 people. The work combines cooking, direct service, and presence among the people served.
Collections throughout the year address practical needs through food, clothing, school supplies, and holiday gifts. Annual outreach grants also support organizations whose work strengthens the community and serves people in need. Sunday volunteers and Pacific House volunteers need no previous experience; their work includes welcoming people, reading Scripture, preparing the altar, cooking, serving, and sharing time with others.
God of Mercy, Christ at the Center
St. Barnabas believes in the God revealed in Jesus Christ, whose central work is described as mercy and forgiveness. Rather than sorting people into categories of naughty and nice, this God frees people from the burdens of sin and death so that they can live with hope and joy. The church's stated response is both gratitude and life: God's work is forgiveness, and Christians are called to enjoy and share it.
The congregation does not require complete understanding before entering faith. Jesus remains a mystery to those who encounter him, and people do not have to have every answer about God or always know what to do with him. What matters, St. Barnabas says, is that God always knows what to do with people. This approach leaves room for serious theological study while making doubts, curiosity, and difficult questions part of an honest spiritual journey.
At the same time, the church holds to the forgiveness of God through the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ. Its welcome is grounded in the shared condition of being sinners who need mercy. Age, race, gender, sexuality, marital status, physical or mental ability, poverty, wealth, political affiliation, education, employment, and nationality do not divide people at the foot of God's grace. St. Barnabas seeks to nurture families, champion biblical teaching, and embrace Christ-centered living as it works to renew lives and heal the world.
Baptism, Marriage, and Life's Great Passages
Baptism is available for children and adults. Whether someone is baptized as a child or adult, the rite welcomes that person into a new relationship with God in Christ and into the wider family of the Church. St. Barnabas describes it as the beginning of a life rooted in grace, surrounded by a community that promises to walk with the baptized person through a lifelong journey of faith, prayer, worship, and growth.
Marriage is another central part of parish life. The sacramental rite is available to any two people regardless of gender, and couples are welcome when either or both have been previously married. Preparation includes counseling with a priest and planning the service with the director of music. These conversations combine pastoral guidance with attention to music and the beauty of the sanctuary as two people make their vows before family and friends.
Funeral and burial ministries accompany families through grief and the death of a loved one. The church grounds these services in Christian hope: death is a real change, but it is not the end, and the love shared in life continues to bind people in Christ. St. Barnabas offers funerals with burial, funerals without burial at that time, and graveside services. The parish also maintains cemeteries and treats music and flowers as ways beauty can support worship, remembrance, thanksgiving, and love.
Clergy and Conversation for Serious Questions
The Rev. Dr. Justin E. Crisp is rector, leading St. Barnabas in spiritual and administrative life. A theologian with degrees from the University of Tennessee and Yale University and a trustee of Berkeley Divinity School at Yale, he previously spent ten years as an assistant at St. Mark's Church in New Canaan. His ministry emphasizes the good news of God's grace while making room to think seriously about God and ask difficult questions about Christian faith.
The Rev. Phoebe Oler is associate rector. She leads ministry with children, youth, and parents and assists Fr. Justin in the spiritual leadership of the church. A graduate of Boston University, Yale Divinity School, and Berkeley Divinity School, she grew up singing in church choir and brings a particular gift for helping people of all ages feel at home in the life of the parish. Dr. Jewelle Bickel leads Children's Ministry with the family ministry team, while Marnus Greyling directs the church's music and organ work.
Fr. Justin and Dr. Jewelle also bring biblical conversation beyond Sunday in the For Better, For Verse podcast. Each week, they discuss their reactions to an excerpt from Luke and their search for the heart of Jesus in the heart of Scripture. Their conversations range across the Old and New Testaments and include difficult theological, moral, and historical questions. St. Barnabas also makes its sermons available online through its sermon library.
Shared Ministry and Practical Giving
Leadership at St. Barnabas follows the Episcopal idea of mutual ministry in which clergy and laity share responsibility for the life of the congregation. The vestry functions much like a governing board. Chaired by the rector and led by four officers, it oversees finances, assets, and property while considering how the church can fulfill its mission to bring people into friendship with God and one another in Christ. Vestry members serve three-year terms, and officers serve renewable one-year terms.
Giving is understood as a practical way of supporting that shared life. Donations can be made by credit card through PayPal, by check, through stocks and securities, donor advised funds, and qualified charitable distributions. Planned giving can include a bequest, trust, or another legacy gift.
Financial gifts sustain worship, formation, outreach, music, and the care of the church's buildings and grounds. Gifts toward altar flowers may be designated as a memorial, thanksgiving, or an honor for someone loved. Flowers are used because beauty is one way the congregation experiences God's glory, giving practical expression to the musical motto that opens this portrait of St. Barnabas: beauty you can hear.
These strands meet in the church's three-part refrain: Be real. Meet God. Follow Jesus. At St. Barnabas, that refrain is lived through Eucharists at two Sunday hours, music made in a resonant sanctuary, formation that gives children and youth real responsibility, small groups that welcome honest questions, and service that brings people together around food and faith. St. Barnabas Church's center is a shared life of worship, friendship, beauty, teaching, and service in Christ.